


Be There

by WandaRavenBlack



Series: Road to Crisis on Infinite Earths [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Blood and Injury, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Family, Hurt, Kidnapping, Loss of Powers, Paralysis, Protective Batfamily (DCU), Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:27:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21945835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandaRavenBlack/pseuds/WandaRavenBlack
Summary: EARTH 5The Justice League are kidnapped and held hostage by a group of villains. Not seeing any other way out, Bruce decides to call in the Batfamily to help them. The only problem is: The League doesn't know about them.
Relationships: Batfamily Members & Bruce Wayne, Diana (Wonder Woman) & Clark Kent, Dick Grayson & Roy Harper, Dick Grayson & Slade Wilson, Dick Grayson & Wally West, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
Series: Road to Crisis on Infinite Earths [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1751014
Comments: 22
Kudos: 578





	Be There

Diana was the first one to wake up. She sat up and looked around. They were in a cage, the metal net around it looking oddly weak and whimzy. She stood up, walked over to the net and put her hand on it, only to gasp when it actually shocked her. She took another breath and put the hand back on it. The shocks started immediately, but she pushed through them and tried to rip the metal apart. To her surprise, it didn’t budge. After a few more tries, she left it and turned to the others instead, checking them for any visual injuries. They seemed unharmed, but Clark, Arthur and Barry had odd collars on them, while J’onn had both a collar and metal bands on his wrists. Just seconds after she was done, Clark suddenly sat up with a gasp. 

“What?” 

She moved over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Superman?” 

His eyes widened as he put his hand up to the collar. 

“Kryptonite. But… This is odd.” 

They heard the others stirr and looked to them. Barry was the first one up, J’onn, Arthur and Oliver not far behind. The archer immediately hurried over to Dinah, helping her stand up. Meanwhile, Clark walked over to where Bruce was on the ground, motionless. His gloves, belt and boots were gone. Oliver frowned. 

“Superman? Maybe you shouldn’t…” 

Before he could say anything more, Bruce’s hand shot out, grabbing Clark’s outstretched arm. He quickly flipped them around, putting his hand on Clark’s throat, before he seemed to realize where he was. He moved off of him and shook his head. 

“Stupid idea.” 

Then he stood up and reached for his belt, only to freeze seconds later. 

“Batman? What’s wrong?” 

“He doesn’t have any of his gadgets.” 

Everyone spun around to where a group of people were standing. At the front of them stood Ra’s al Ghul, with Talia at his side. On his other side stood Bane, a grin on his face. A bit further back, Lady Shiva and Merlyn were standing next to each other. Tarantula stood a few steps away from them. On the other side of the group, Blockbuster was glaring at the imprisoned heroes. In the corner of the room, Deathstroke was leaning against the wall, looking uninterested in what was happening. 

“I’m terribly sorry, detective. I know how you hate to go anywhere without them, but we can’t have you leaving too quickly. The collars have been modified and specially adjusted to stop your powers. The ones of you who do not wear them, have been injected with the right chemicals to dampen your powers.” 

Bruce stepped forward a bit. 

“What do you want, Ra’s?” 

“We want the League to disband. But, since everyone knows that won’t happen, we had to take some more drastic measures. We will keep you here until we are done with our plans. We want you to see this.” 

Then he turned away from them and started talking quickly in arabic. It was clear that neither Tarantula, Blockbuster or Bane understood what he was saying. Deathstroke’s posture didn’t change, but everyone in the room knew very well that he understood every word that was spoken. Using the villains momentary distraction, Bruce pushed on a small button on the side of his arm, before speaking quietly. 

“Gordon. Put on the red Bat Signal and clear the roof.” 

They saw Deathstroke’s head tilting slightly, but the man didn’t say anything. For the next 20 minutes the villains kept talking between them. Suddenly, Bruce stepped a bit closer to the net. 

“Ra’s.” 

The man turned to them. 

“You did a grave mistake.” 

Ra’s smiled almost softly. 

“And why do you think that, detective?” 

“You attacked a Bat. And there are more to come.” 

A few of the villains, as well as the heroes frowned. Clark took a step closer. 

“Batman?” 

Before the bat could answer, a few figures rushed into the room. The Leaguers' eyes widened. There was a woman with fiery red hair and a red bat on her chest. Next to her stood a woman that they recognized as a thief, Catwoman. In the front stood a young man with a blue bird on his chest, and a boy, no older than 11, clutching a sword. On the boy’s other side stood a man in a leather jacket and with a red bat on his chest. He was holding a gun and his red helmet was glaring at the villains. On the other side stood two young girls. One of them, with long blonde hair, was wearing a purple cloak. The other, with short black hair was clothed completely in black, including a mask covering the upper part of her face, with a yellow bat on her chest. The heroes all glanced to Batman. 

“You work alone, huh?” 

Oliver’s voice was almost teasing, while Clark looked slightly terrified. 

“Are those children?” 

Meanwhile, the young man with the blue bird tilted his head and grinned. 

“Well, well. This is an odd gathering.” 

The boy next to him glared up to him.

“Are you really going to chat with them, Nightwing?” 

The grin was sent down to him. 

“I’m just trying to be polite, Robin.” 

Then he looked up again. 

“You really shouldn’t have messed with Batman.” 

Ra’s tilted his head while keeping his eyes on the boy. 

“Interesting.” 

Catwoman tensed up when she noticed Tarantula. 

“You.” 

And she jumped at the woman, ignoring Nightwing’s protest. He sighed and, still keeping his eyes on Ra’s, said calmly. 

“You won’t let them go. Very well.” 

He pulled out his escrima sticks and seeing that, the girl with the yellow bat quickly attacked Shiva. The woman with the red bat moved to Talia and managed to land a punch before the other woman started fighting back. Merlyn raised his bow, but took a step back when he was kicked in the stomach by the girl in the purple cloak. Bane shouted angrily and charged, but was stopped by the man in the red helmet. To the Leaguers' shock, the man actually matched him punch for punch. Robin looked up to Nightwing, his sword still pointed at Ra’s. 

“I’ll deal with him.” 

The young man looked hesitant but, seeing Blockbuster charging at them, quickly nodded and jumped towards the big man. He did a flip over his head, forcing him to turn around. The League noticed that he glanced over to Deathstroke and hesitated for a second. But then the man made a small movement with his hand, almost as if saying ‘go ahead’, and Nightwing grinned again while attacking Blockbuster. As the fighting went on, the League moved closer to Batman. 

“Who are they?” 

He sighed slightly, before pointing his hand out towards the fighting pairs. 

“That’s Nightwing, Red Hood, Catwoman, Robin, Batwoman, Blakbat and Spoiler. But there is someone missing.” 

Everyone except for Bruce jumped when they heard a voice from behind the cage. A teenage boy with red wings on his suit smiled at them while he was typing on the computer that none of them had noticed before. 

“Red Robin. Hi. Oracle. I’m sending you the chemical components of the injections and the blueprints of the collars. See what you can do. I’ll work on the cage.” 

He must’ve gotten an answer through the comm because he nodded. 

“They are doing fine.” 

Ra’s who had noticed him, glared over to Deathstroke while fending off the boy’s furious attacks. 

“Take him down!” 

The mercenary looked at the teenager before turning his head back to where Nightwing and Blockbuster were in the middle of a furious battle. Ra’s huffed out an angry breath. 

“You traitor. Guards!” 

Seven assassins ran inside and immediately attacked Red Robin. The teenager quickly whipped out a long staff and fought back. He was a good fighter but, against the trained men he couldn’t do more than knock them back for long enough to keep them all at arm’s length. Barry leaned closer to Oliver and asked in a whisper:

“Why isn’t Deathstroke attacking?” 

Oliver, who had been watching the fight between Spoiler and Merlyn, now turned to the mercenary. The man was still leaned against the wall, his face turned to Nightwing’s fight. 

“I don’t know. Batman?” 

But the man didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on Robin and Ra’s. And, when they looked around, they noticed how different everyone’s fighting styles were. Robin was fighting with fury but, even though his sword looked deadly, he never went for a fatal blow. Him and Ra’s were pretty much dancing around each other, almost as if they had practiced the choreography for the fight for a long time. Blackbat and Shiva were fighting that way too. Almost as if they had done it before. Catwoman was clearly not just fighting to win. She was fighting to hurt and Tarantula seemed to have trouble keeping up with her. A few people in the room heard Catwoman say something about one of her birds getting hurt and Tarantula paying for that, but no one paid too much attention to it. Batwoman and Talia were trading punches, the assassin’s sword having been knocked out of her hands in the beginning of the fight. Spoiler was clearly having some trouble with Merlyn, the man pushing her back with force. Nightwing was flipping around Blockbuster, giving him occasional hits and glancing over to Deathstroke from time to time. To Diana it looked almost like an apprentice checking in with his master is he was doing a good job. And that fact worried her. What also worried her was the way Red Hood was fighting. He was clearly not holding back. Suddenly, he managed to get behind the big man, grabbed the container with the Venom and put something in it. Seconds later, Bane shouted and then fell to the floor, writhing in pain. The Hood pulled out his gun again and pointed it straight at the big man’s head. Seeing that, Batman visibly tensed up, but relaxed again when Hood heard Spoiler’s grunt of pain and looked up. With one quick move, he knocked out Bane and then moved to where Robin was fighting Ra’s. 

“Hell Spawn, take over from Spoiler. Spoiler, go help Replacement. I’ve got this.” 

Robin looked him up and down, before nodding and jumping in between Spoiler and Merlyn. The archer tried to hit him with his bow, but the boy was too quick. Meanwhile, the girl backed away to help Red Robin. Red Hood took a deep breath and two blades appeared out of nowhere. They were glowing red and Ra’s actually hesitated when he saw them. But then he smiled and attacked. Hood gave as good as he got and the fight was way more violent than any of the others. Catwoman had managed to knock out Tarantula, leaving a gash on her forehead, and quickly moved over to Spoiler, their joined efforts giving Red Robin enough help to let him move back to the computer. Batwoman and Robin were finished with their opponents soon after and the woman joined Catwoman and Spoiler, while the boy moved over to Red Hood, seeing the man swaying slightly. Ra’s laughed. 

“The all-blades draw power from your soul. They are making you weak. You can’t beat me.” 

Hood tilted his head and did one more attack towards Ra’s, driving the man backwards, straight onto Robin’s blade. It went through the man’s hip and, using his momentary pain, Hood quickly knocked him out. In the same moment, Blackbat had managed to knock Shiva out with a hard blow to the head. Hood’s swords disappeared and he relaxed slightly, only to tense up again when the doors opened and fourteen assassins burst inside. Except for Nightwing, who was still fighting Blockbuster, everyone else moved into a half circle around Red Robin, making sure that none of the assassins managed to get through to him. Seeing that they were fighting simple assassins, the League’s eyes turned to Nightwing. The young man was still jumping around Blockbuster, getting in hits here and there. Suddenly, the big man managed to pick up a knife from the floor and, using all his might, stick it straight into Nightwing’s stomach. A few people screamed at that, both in anger and fear. Red Hood, Robin and Blackbat all tried to get to the fallen man, but the assassins cut them off. The League could only watch in horror as the big man started approaching Nightwing, when a spray of bullets hit between the wounded vigilante and the villain. A few of the bullets hit five of the assassins, killing four and leaving the fifth gasping for air, as blood flooded his lungs. Without a moment’s hesitation, Hood lifted his own gun and shot the man in the head, ending his suffering. Then he glanced over to where Deathstroke had positioned himself between Nightwing and Blockbuster, his swords drawn. 

“Get away from him.” 

Blockbuster just laughed and charged at them. Seconds later, his laugh turned into a pained cry as Deathstroke easily side stepped his attack and plunged both blades into his body. He twisted them and the big man fell to the ground, blood trickling out of his mouth. With one powerful move, Deathstroke pulled the swords out and swung them, effectively cutting off the villain’s both arms. A strong blow to the head knocked the screaming man out. And then came the even more shocking part. Deathstroke threw himself into the middle of the battle, cutting down assassins as if they were simple, never trained, civilians. He had killed them all in under two minutes and then moved back to Nightwing. Quickly, he fell to his knees next to him, pulled his own helmet off and pressed one hand against the bleeding wound. Those who had not seen Slade Wilson before were shocked by how ordinary he looked. Robin was moving towards them, when Red Hood grabbed his shoulder and forced the boy to stay next to him. Diana turned to Bruce.

“What is he doing?”

The bat didn’t answer. Meanwhile, Slade grabbed Nightwing’s mask and pulled it off, revealing the young man’s blue eyes. 

“You idiot. How many times do I have to tell you to not lose your concentration when fighting someone stronger and bigger than you?” 

Nightwing smirked. 

“I knew you cared.” 

Slade scoffed. 

“Care? The only thing I care about is that I am the only one allowed to kill you. Now. Except for the obvious, what hurts?” 

Before the vigilante could answer, Ra’s sat up slowly, laughing. Everyone turned to him. 

“I might have lost against the League, but I won against you.” 

Slade glared up at him. 

“Keep pressure on the wound.” 

Almost automatically, Nightwing’s hands pressed down on the wound, the young man wincing. Seeing that he had it under control, Slade stood up and pulled out a knife. 

“You didn’t win anything, al Ghul.” 

He walked over to where Talia was still unconscious, picked her up slightly and put the knife to her throat. 

“Now. You’re going to tell the red bird over there how to unlock that cage and disable the collar on either Superman or Flash. I don’t care which, as long as it’s someone fast enough to get Nightwing to a hospital. Or, you could keep quiet, and I’ll slit her throat.” 

“Slade!” 

The mercenary ignored Nightwing’s protest and kept his eye on Ra’s. The man smiled. 

“Do it. I already have an heir.”

Barry and Dinah both gasped. Robin seemed to consider something, before taking a small step forward, Hood’s grip tightening on his shoulder and stopping him from going any further. 

“No you don’t, grandfather.” 

The Leaguers looked at each other in shock, except for Batman, who was keeping his eyes on the boy. 

“I’m the son of Batman. I’m a Wayne and a Grayson before an al Ghul. I’m not your heir.” 

Those who had been looking at Nightwing, saw the smile that appeared on the man’s face. Deathstroke nodded his head. 

“Should I really do it? Because once she is dead and you are in prison, I’m sure getting to Nyssa won’t be that hard.” 

“Slade.” 

“I will make sure anyone you ever cared for dies.”

“Slade!”

“I will murder your entire League and make sure people forget about you.”

“Dad!”

Everyone’s heads snapped over to Nightwing. Slade frowned. 

“I can’t feel my legs.” 

His voice sounded slightly worried, and that finally made Robin wrench himself away from Red Hood and rush over to Nightwing. The man grinned up at him. 

“You okey?” 

Robin scoffed. 

“Of course I am.” 

Deathstroke, who had let go of Talia and walked over to crouch next to Nightwing again, put a hand under his shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. 

“This will hurt.”

The young man nodded and then grunted as his upper body was lifted from the ground. Slade put his other hand under him as well and moved it around a bit before pressing up. Nightwing screamed, causing a few of the heroes to flinch and the boy to grab the handle of his sword. Moving more gently than anyone would have expected out of him, Slade put the vigilante back on the ground. 

“The knife went through your entire body and must’ve damaged something in your spinal cord. You need to get to a hospital NOW.” 

Red Robin, who had been working quietly up till now, looked up from the computer. 

“I can’t work through the cage’s security system. It’s almost as if there isn’t enough power.” 

Nightwing frowned. When he spoke, his voice was full of pain. 

“Will overloading the power in the cage itself work?” 

Red Robin thought about it for a moment, before nodding. 

“It should. But that kind of power isn’t anything we can produce.” 

Nightwing managed to smile. He turned his head towards Slade. 

“Get me over to the cage.” 

The man hesitated. 

“Now, Slade.” 

Slade glared at him, before putting his arms under him again and lifting him up. The young man grunted in pain, but his glare kept the mercenary moving. He sat him down on the floor next to the cage and backed off. Nightwing looked up to the League and smiled softly. 

“Back away from the net. Whatever happens, don’t touch it.” 

Batman was the first one to back away, the others following his lead quickly. Nightwing pulled his escrima sticks out and put them against the net. 

“Red, be ready.” 

Red Robin nodded and concentrated on the screen. Nightwing pushed something on his sticks and suddenly they crackled with electricity. He amped up the power and the electricity quickly spread through the entire cage. 

“Hurry now. This won’t last long.” 

Red Robin started typing furiously. The electricity sparked up even more, before dying completely. Nightwing pulled his sticks away from the net and, with a grunt, started falling backwards. Blackbat quickly grabbed his shoulders and steadied him. Hood walked over to the cage, grabbed the net and pulled. The metal came loose from the frame and he quickly tossed it to the side. Batman swept out of the cage and kneeled down next to Nightwing. The young man looked up at him, and Diana noticed that he was looking nervous. 

“B, listen…” 

“Not now. We’ll talk later.” 

The Hood took an, almost threatening, step towards him. Batman glared up at him. 

“Not a word. I will talk with you too.” 

Blackbat and Spoiler exchanged worried glances. Catwoman smiled softly, walked over to Batman and put her hand on his shoulder. 

“Why don’t you take a breath and calm down.” 

He glared up at her, but she just glared back. 

“Red, did Oracle say anything about the collars?” 

“She needs them in the cave to be able to do anything. Nothing she can do from here.” 

Deathstroke sighed in annoyance but didn’t get to say anything because Batwoman spoke up. 

“He’s losing much blood.” 

Nightwing, who was indeed getting paler and paler, just smiled. 

“I’m right here.” 

A frown appeared on Red Robin’s face, before he quickly reached out to Nightwing. 

“Wing. Your communication device. The three way radio.” 

Nightwing was looking like he wanted to protest, but Robin just reached into his belt and pulled it out. He stretched it over to Red Robin who pressed a button on it. 

“Nightwing is hurt. Needs hospital care now!” 

The radio beeped three times. Just seconds later a yellow blurr appeared. It stopped in the middle of the room and Barry’s eyes widened. 

“Kid Flash?” 

The young man grinned, before speeding over to Nightwing. 

“You okey, man? Speedy stayed in Star.” 

Oliver and Dinah glanced at each other. 

“Speedy?”

Nightwing grinned, but it was clear that he was losing strength. 

“Won’t be able to do flips for some time. Lost the legs.” 

Kid Flash crouched down next to him, put one hand around his back and the other under his knees, before lifting. Then he turned to Batman. 

“I’ll take him to the cave. Penny-One should be able to take care of him.” 

He looked down. 

“Your head, Birdboy.” 

Obediently, Nightwing tucked his head in a bit, putting it against Kid Flash’s shoulder. 

“And keep it there. Don’t wanna add whiplash to your list of injuries.” 

And he disappeared. Batman stood up and turned to Deathstroke. The mercenary looked him up and down, before smirking and turning to Red Hood. 

“Leave a message about his condition in his flat in Bludhaven. I’ll keep an eye on it.” 

He turned around, walked over to where his mask was, picked it up and put it on. Red Robin tilted his head. 

“Oracle says that plane is outside. And that KF got to the tower. Penny-One is taking care of Nightwing. We should go now, before…” 

In that second, the doors burst open again and assassins started streaming in. Slade looked at them and sighed. Very slowly, he pulled his swords out and pointed one towards one of the doors. 

“Go that way. I’ll take care of them.” 

Hood glanced at him, before grabbing Robin’s shoulder and forcefully pulling him towards the door. 

“Come on, Hell Spawn. We need to move. Golden Boy will kill me if something happens to you. Cat, Spoiler. Take point with the brat. Replacement, Batwoman. Keep in the middle with the League. Blackbat, you are in the back with me.” 

Batman looked like he wanted to argue, but a glare from Catwoman stopped him. They kept that formation out of the building to where a small plane had landed. 

“Everyone inside. Blackbat, Cat, you stay with me.” 

They all piled into the plane, Hood pushing Blackbat and Catwoman inside before jumping in himself. As soon as the door closed behind him, the plane took off, Red Robin in the pilot seat. Batman, seeing that there was no chance of any of the villains catching up to them, pulled back his cowl. Seeing that, every other hero took off their masks and hoods as well. Red Hood looked around and sighed. 

“Alright. Since you all know B’s identity and we obviously know who you all are, we might as well introduce ourselves. I’m Jason Todd. The guy in the pilot seat is Tim Drake. That’s Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne, Selina Kyle and Kate Kane. The guy who got wounded is Dick Grayson.” 

Barry turned towards Bruce. 

“How does Wally know about all of this? How does he know about your CAVE?” 

Oliver nodded. 

“And Roy?” 

Bruce glared around, making Selina smile. She stood up, walked over to him and sat down next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. 

“Wally and Dick met when they were young. Dick had just been through a… disagreement, with Bruce and was staying with me. Wally was still learning how to control his speed and he literally crashed into Dick. Broke his leg and two of his ribs. Dick talked me into letting Wally stay with us for a few days, during which Wally told him about the Flash and Dick told him about Batman. Bruce came back to patch things up with Dick and take him back home, and Wally ran off to Central City again. After that, they kept in contact and Dick even sneaked him into the cave a few times, before they were found out by Bruce. He was angry, but let them meet there. A few years later, when Dick was with the Titans, Roy saved his life. When he came back to Gotham, he kept contact with him and introduced him to Wally.” 

She looked around with a smile. 

“If I’m being honest, I think those three caused more damage in the cave and in the mansion than Jay, Tim, Steph, Damian and Cass put together.” 

She sat down next to Bruce who, as they all noticed, stopped glaring around him. The rest of the flight was spent in silence. Tim flew the plane over Gotham, before landing on top of Wayne manor. Diana was going to ask about that, but was cut off by Stephanie. 

“This is a Wayne-Plane. It’s normal for Bruce to go out on flights and come back late at night. No one will even think about that.” 

She stepped out of the plane and the others followed her. As soon as they were all out, Damian and Cassandra ran over to a young woman in a wheelchair, who was coming their way. 

“How is Grayson? Was Pennyworth able to help?” 

“Dick ok?” 

The woman put her hand up. 

“Dick is alive and that’s what we should all focus on right now. Everyone go change. Alfred said that he doesn’t want to see one single cape or mask in the infirmary. And no hoods either, Jay.” 

They young heroes grunted, but all obediently went inside, some of them starting to pull off parts of their suits while walking. Jason rolled his eyes at the woman and she smirked at him, so he just followed the younger heroes inside. The woman turned to the League, her smile faltering a bit. It was obvious that she had been putting on a happy front for the others. 

“I’m Barbara Gordon. Former Batgirl and current Oracle. I think I have a way to get those collars off of you.” 

She wheeled closer to them and stretched a small device over to Clark. 

“Here. Put it against the collar.” 

He did it and the metal immediately opened and fell to the ground. As quickly as possible, he helped the others get out of their collars, before giving the device back to Barbara. 

“Thank you.” 

She nodded at him and then looked up at Bruce. 

“B. What happened over there?” 

“Blockbuster stabbed him.” 

She rolled her eyes. 

“More information.” 

“About what?” 

His voice was sharp and, from their own experience, the Leaguers knew that he was getting angry and that the best tactic would be to back off. The woman just glared up at him, managing to look even more intimidating than Batman. 

“Don’t give me that crap, Bruce. Dick flatlined on us four times. Even with Wally’s speed, he lost way too much blood. We all had a deal. The red signal goes up only if we have absolute certainty that no one will get hurt while busting us out. We are all ready to give our health and lives for the sake of the innocent. But we all agreed to never put each other in danger. So I will ask you only once, Bruce. How did this happen?” 

“Why don’t you ask his father?” 

Selina froze, while Barbara suddenly looked furious. 

“Don’t you dare. Ever since you found out about Deathstroke being Dick’s father, you have been even worse to him than before. You have been pushing him away again, not talking to him, ignoring him. If it wasn’t for Damian, I don’t think Dick would even come to the mansion anymore. And yet, as soon as the red signal went up, he dropped everything in Haven and raced over here. He stepped right into the leader role. He made sure that everyone would stay safe. And now he’s in there, and we don’t know if…” 

She stopped herself, tears appearing in her eyes. Clark frowned slightly. 

“Miss Gordon?”

Barbara looked around at their faces, before turning back to Bruce again. 

“Alfred said that the damage to his spine is very similar to mine. Dick might never be able to walk again. And you know what that means for him.” 

“What does it mean?” 

She turned to Barry, who had asked the question. 

“Not being able to walk, for Dick means death.” 

With a few strong movements, she turned her chair around and wheeled inside. Selina, seeing the shocked look on Bruce’s face, turned to the League. 

“Follow me. We have clean clothes you can change into. Diana, you should be able to wear some of Kate’s. Selina, I think Dinah is the same size as you. Oliver, Barry. You two should be able to have Jason’s clothes. They might be a bit too wide, but should be fine. But there might be a problem with Clark, J’onn and Arthur. Now even Jay’s or Bruce’s clothes will fit you.” 

She taught for a few seconds, before a smile appeared on her face. 

“I’ve got it. Kate, mind swinging by Dick’s room? M might have left some of his clothes the last time he was here. And, if he wonders where they went, it was Dick’s idea."

Kate nodded and they all went inside, Bruce staying on the roof. As soon as they were out of earshot of him, Clark looked down at Barbara. 

“I’ve never seen Bruce in that state.” 

She smiled sadly. 

“He loves Dick. Whatever happens, he will always love him. But, sometimes, he doesn’t know how to deal with him and the relationship between them.” 

Oliver looked around. 

“Who is M?”

“A friend of Dick’s. He almost never comes here, but he was in a bad fight a few weeks ago and stopped by here. He doesn’t trust any of us, so he stayed in Dick’s room. Now, you’ll have to excuse me. I’m going to check on Dick. Kate and Selina will help you around.” 

And she wheeled away. Selina smiled at them. 

“Come with us. We’ll get you some clothes and then we can go see how Dick is.” 

They led them down to a locker room and Selina started pulling out clothes, while Kate laid out a t-shirt and jeans for Diana, before walking away. She came back five minutes later, carrying clothes that she gave to Clark, Arthur and J’onn. 

“Thank you.” 

She just nodded at them and quickly changed out of the suit. As soon as they were all changed, Selina led them out of the room and upstairs to a long corridor. She stopped outside a door and took a deep breath. 

“Let’s do this.” 

And she opened the door. Everyone walked inside, where the younger heroes were already standing and sitting around one of the beds. When they came closer, everyone walked to the side. Dick was on the bed, his skin white as a sheet. On the bed, next to his hands, sat Damian and Cassandra. On the chairs closest to them sat Wally and…

“Roy?!” 

The archer looked up and grinned. 

“Hey Ollie. KF picked me up after he dropped Dick off here.” 

Dick looked around, before a small smile appeared on his face. 

“You have questions.” 

Jason snorted. 

“Of course they have. It’s not like Batman ever tells them anything.” 

Dick glared at him tiredly, before addressing the others. 

“What would you like to know first?” 

Clark glanced at the young boy on the bed and frowned. 

“Why does Bruce have children fighting?” 

Dick sighed, before flinching. Immediately, Damian and Cass looked at him with worry. He took a few deep breaths, before smiling at them. 

“It’s not like that. He… You know what? I’ll just start from the beginning. I was born in a circus. Me and my parents were an acrobat act called the Flying Graysons. I was eight when we performed in Gotham. Haly, the owner of the circus, was approached by Tony Zucco. Zucco wanted Haly to pay for protection. Haly refused, not wanting to have anything to do with criminals. That night, when we were performing without a net, the ropes snapped. My parents fell. They died right in front of me. Bruce was there, in the circus. He saw it happen. I was put in a juvie since I had no other relatives. Bruce took me out of there and adopted me. He wanted to give me a good, safe life. But I didn’t want it. I knew that Zucco was the one responsible and I wanted to find him and kill him. One night, when I was nine, I ran away from the house and got lost in Gotham. Bruce found me as Batman and I recognized him. He agreed to help me get justice, if it meant that I wouldn’t go out on my own and get myself killed. He trained me and made me into Robin. We have not always been on the best terms, but we made it work. I moved on to become Nightwing when I realized that I had to grow up and get out of his shadow.” 

Jason snorted. 

“You make it look like you and him never got into a bad fight.” 

“Jay. I know why he did what he did. I understand why he is this way. I don’t care what happens. I will always be there for him.” 

With a frown, Jason took over the story. 

“I was raised on the streets. Absent father, drug addicted mother. One day, I see this black car in a back alley and start taking off the wheels. Batman found me that way. Gave me food and I, stupid as I was, went with him. It was during the time when Dick was off, running with the Titans. Bruce trained me and made me Robin. A few months later, I ran off on my own. Got captured by Joker. He beat me up with a crowbar and then exploded the warehouse. Bruce didn’t get there in time. I died. A few years later, Talia resurrected me with a Lazarus Pit. Came back new and improved. Took on the name Red Hood. Started dealing with mob and drug dealers. Me and Bruce don’t see eye to eye. At all.” 

Tim rolled his eyes and, ignoring the shocked looks on the Leaguers faces, started talking. 

“That’s an understatement. Well. My turn, I guess. I was 13 when Jason died. I had figured out Batman’s secret identity a few years earlier and I knew that he would have trouble dealing with everything. So I contacted him and pretty much annoyed him into making me Robin. Then, a few years later, Bruce disappeared, and everyone thought he was dead. I left the cave, since I was sure that he was alive. I became Red Robin.” 

Damian tilted his head. 

“I guess I’ll have to tell you my story now. I am the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. My mother raised me to be an assassin until I was 10 years old. Then she sent me away to my father. For what reason, I don’t know. Father didn’t trust me and decided that keeping Drake around as Robin was a good idea. When father disappeared, Richard became the new Batman and made me his Robin. Once father came back, he managed to convince him that me being Robin is a good idea.” 

Diana and Clark were both surprised by the indifference in the boy’s voice when he spoke about Bruce, but the devotion and respect that appeared as soon as he mentioned Dick. The girl on Dick’s other side frowned in concentration. 

“Parents no good. Learn fight. Bruce good. Help me. No hurt. Batgirl. Now Blackbat.” 

She smiled proudly and Dick gently squeezed her hand. Barbara smiled too and the others understood that it must be a big thing for Cassandra to speak so much. Dinah gave the girl an encouraging smile and the girl beamed back at her. Barbara took over next. 

“I met Dick in school. He didn’t have the easiest time. A romani child, raised in the circus, orphan, adopted by Bruce Wayne. Everyone was after him. In the beginning, I was going to just take him under my wing and make sure he didn’t get hurt. My father is the commissioner and no kids dared to try anything with me. But, with time, I started to actually get to know him. We became friends and he had real trouble keeping secrets from me. One day, he took me to the cave and showed me the suits. I managed to talk him into having one made for me in secret. The first time I joined them on patrol, as Batgirl, Bruce was furious. But he learned to accept it. A few years ago, Joker ambushed me in my flat and shot me. I became paralyzed and started helping Batman and the others through hacking and computer work. Dick called me Oracle once and it stuck.” 

Stephanie hesitated for a few seconds, before telling her story. 

“My father is Cluemaster. I hated what he was doing, so I became Spoiler and started to spoil all his plans. I helped Batman take him down. Bruce wasn’t happy. He took me in to train me, but decided that I wasn’t fit for it and told me to hang up my suit. I refused, went on patrols with Tim. When Tim’s dad found out about him being Robin, Tim had to hang up the suit for some time, and I managed to convince Bruce to make me Robin. He trained me and we went on patrols but, after I disobeyed his orders a few times, he took the suit away from me. I wanted to show him that he could trust me and managed to start a gang war instead. I got heavily wounded and dr. Thompkins took me with her to Africa to recover. I came back once I was well and took over as Batgirl from Cass. But too many of Cass’ and Babs’ old enemies mistook me for them, so I went back to Spoiler.” 

Kate sighed. 

“That leaves only me, huh? I got attacked by some drunk men one night. Batman saved me. I was pissed, because I didn’t want to be the kind of woman who would have to be saved by a man. I wanted to take care of myself. So, I made a suit and went out as Batwoman. After Bruce came to terms with it, he updated my suit and gave me access to the cave.” 

Everyone sat in silence, until Oliver turned to Selina. 

“And what about you? Last time I checked, you were a well known thief.” 

The woman smiled. 

“Me and Bruce have had a relationship for many years.” 

Dick raised his hand slightly. 

“And I’m responsible for that.” 

She nodded. 

“Yes. Me and Bruce have had occasional one night stands with each other, before that. After all, I was a thief and he was the Dark Knight of Gotham. And then, one day, I ran into a small crying child, dressed in a colorful suit. Bruce wasn’t used to going on patrol with someone else back then and lost him. I stayed with him until Bruce found us and Dick immediately saw that there was something between us. He did his best to get us together and, after a few months, we officially got together. Bruce Wayne stopped sleeping around and I held back from stealing that much.” 

Once again, the Leaguers looked completely shocked. Getting to know that Batman had so many children, one of them biological with Talia al Ghul, was shocking. Not to mention the fact that one of those kids was clearly a criminal and four of them were children of villains. But finding out that he was together with a known criminal was somehow even more shocking. Wally, who had been ignoring most of the talk, now stood up. 

“Dick needs to sleep and rest up. Why don’t we move this to the living room.” 

“Wally.” 

He glared down at the young man. 

“No. You have to rest. I will knock you out if I have to.” 

Dick smiled. 

“I know you will. But no rest will fix this.” 

He gestured down to his legs. Wally seemed at a loss for words, so Roy took over. 

“We both know that Deathstroke can regenerate and heal. You have his DNA. Maybe it will help. AND…” 

He raised his voice when he noticed that Dick was ready to protest. 

“Even if your legs don’t heal, you lost way too much blood. You shouldn’t even be awake right now. Rest up. I’ll keep an eye on everything while you sleep.” 

Dick sighed and his eyes slipped closed. 

“Alright.” 

Roy stood up and pointed at the door. 

“Babs, mind leading everyone to the living room?” 

She smiled at him. 

“Sure.” 

And she wheeled out of the room, the young heroes following her. Jason, Wally and Roy made sure that the Leaguers had left the room as well, before going after them. Babs led them through the house, into the living room. There, she turned on the tv and the image of Dick’s room appeared. He was awake, looking around the room with fear. Damian flopped down onto one of the couches, Cass sitting down next to him and putting her hand on his shoulder. Kate sat down too and raised her eyebrows. 

“I’m guessing that you still have questions. Sit down. We’ll answer them as well as we can.” 

Everyone found places to sit down and Barry was the first one to ask. 

“Dick said that his parents died in the circus. But Deathstroke is still alive.” 

Babs and Roy exchanged worried looks, before the man spoke up. 

“Dick and Wilson have a very bad past together. Dick hates him. But he also accepts that Wilson is his father.” 

“Why didn’t Bruce ever tell us about all of you?” 

Jason snorted. 

“When does Bruce ever tell anyone about anything?” 

Silence stretched after that question. Suddenly, Oliver pointed towards the tv. 

“Who is that?” 

Everyone looked there and a few people stood up in worry. A figure in a dark purple cloak with the hood up was approaching the bed. Roy smiled. 

“That’s Raven. A friend.” 

The figure walked over to the bed and pulled her hood off. Dick looked up at her with tired eyes. 

“Rae?” 

“I felt your pain. I felt you disappearing.” 

He smiled softly. 

“I’m alive.”

She looked down at his legs. 

“You can't walk.” 

It wasn’t a question, but he still nodded. 

“Yeah. Stabbed in the spine.” 

She looked around, before taking a deep breath. 

“Can you turn around? I’ll see what I can do.” 

“Rae you don’t have to.” 

“I know. But I want to. We birds have to stay together, right?” 

They looked at each other for a few seconds, before he nodded and, using his arms, turned around onto his front. As gently as she could, she lifted his shirt and pulled his sweatpants down a bit. Then she grabbed a pair of scissors and cut through the bandage. A few people winced at the wound that appeared. Raven put her hands over the wound and started chanting too quietly for the microphones to pick up. Her hands started glowing and Dick twitched.Her concentration broke for a few seconds and he looked up at his head. 

“I know it hurts, but you have to stay still.” 

He nodded in response and she went back to work. In the living room, everyone held their breath. A few minutes later, she swayed and opened her eyes. His wound was bleeding again and, through the speakers, they heard Dick’s heavy panting. 

“Rae?” 

“I’m fine.” 

As quickly as she could, she grabbed new bandages and patched him up, before helping him lay onto his back again. 

“I fixed your spine. The injury was fresh enough. If I had waited for it to heal up a bit, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. But, I didn’t have enough power to heal the wound itself. You need to sleep. Do you want some help with it or can you fall asleep yourself?” 

Dick glanced over to a small cabinet. 

“There should be painkillers there.” 

She fetched them quickly and Dick swallowed two. 

“Thank you.” 

She smiled. 

“Always. Sleep now. I have to go.” 

He closed his eyes and, with a last look towards him, Raven left. Everyone breathed out in relief, Cass even giving Damian a hug, before his stiffness made her back off. The door opened suddenly and Bruce walked inside, still in his Batman suit. 

“I readied a plane for you. You can leave, if you’re feeling better. Jason. I want to talk to you about today.” 

Jason stood up, anger clear on his face. 

“We saved your ass today. So you can save your talk about code and breaking rules for someone else. I’m out of here.” 

Bruce looked ready to argue, but the door opened once again and an old man walked inside. 

“Are you leaving already, Master Jason?” 

Jason’s expression softened a bit. 

“Yeah. I have to swing by Haven before I set up my next shipment. I’ll see myself out.” 

And he marched out. Bruce looked at the Leaguers. 

“The plane is on the roof.” 

And he went out. Barbara sighed. 

“Don’t worry. Stay as long as you wish. He’ll come around.” 

The old man walked closer to them. 

“My name is Alfred. Should I prepare rooms for everyone?” 

Oliver shook his head. 

“No, thank you. I’m going back to Star. Roy, Dinah. You’re coming with me?” 

“No.” 

Roy stood up and stretched. 

“I’ll take the first shift with Dick.” 

Wally nodded. 

“I’ll stay too, but you should go, uncle Barry.” 

Barry hesitated, before nodding. 

“Alright. But I’m running. I’ve had enough of planes for a day. Call me if anything happens to Dick.” 

And he sped off. Arthur stood up as well. 

“I’ll go with you to Star City and then go into water there.” 

J’onn turned to Babs. 

“Is there a zeta tube somewhere here, miss Gordon? I should go to the hall of justice.” 

Babs nodded. 

“Yeah. We have one not far from here. Kate. Could you show J’onn the way?” 

The woman stood up and smiled. 

“Sure. Come with me. It’s just down the road.” 

Diana glanced over to Clark and then turned to Barbara. 

“Me and Clark would like to stay, if that won’t be a problem.” 

Barbara shook her head. 

“No problem at all. Steph, Cass. Why don’t you two go help Alfred with the rooms.” 

The two girls nodded and quickly left, Alfred, Clark and Diana following them. The two superheroes could hear Barbara’s next words, even though the door had closed behind them. 

“Damian. You go let Titus out. If he poops inside again, Alfred might go crazy. Roy, Wally, you two take the first shift. Tim. You go sleep. You can take the second shift with me. But now you need to sleep or I will knock you out. Selina. Could you check on Bruce? He shouldn’t be left alone too much right now. I’ll call Kori. She might want to come here once she finds out what happened.” 

Everyone followed her orders without a word and the two heroes exchanged confused looks. For someone who couldn’t walk and had therefore limited fighting possibilities, the woman was fierce. They followed Alfred to where two rooms next to each other stood open. The girls immediately hurried inside, putting things in place, before coming out. Alfred smiled at them. 

“Thank you, my dears. Now you should go eat and sleep some. I promise to personally wake you up if anything changes about Master Dick’s condition.” 

Stephanie nodded and walked away, while Cass hesitated. After a few seconds, she gave Alfred a quick kiss on his cheek and then rushed off. He smiled after her. 

“She is a very sweet girl. And she’s gotten so much better.” 

He then looked up at the two heroes. 

“I feel like I need to apologize for Master Bruce’s behavior. He cares very deeply for all his children even if he, most of the time, doesn’t know how to show it. Master Dick has lived with him the longest and is the first child Master Bruce adopted. He will blame himself for what happened today, but will not know how to fix it. So I would advise you two to give him some time. Now, breakfast hasn’t been served in this house for years now, since everyone rises at different times. But the kitchen is at your disposal. Although I would advise against touching the cereal. Master Dick is very protective of it. Goodnight.” 

And with those words, he walked away. Clark and Diana exchanged stunned glances. They had a feeling that this was only the beginning of something that would take a long time to understand.


End file.
